Luke Paul Chandler discusses the players that are holding out in the “third season.”
The NFL has often been described as having a “second season” which is the period that encompasses free agency and the NFL Draft. Now we are approaching what the experts should call the third season, where contract disputes and hold outs are the norm. Frequently, a player will skip voluntary workouts and training sessions this time of year as a quiet resistance to the team that will not restructure his contract. It will not begin to cut into his pocketbook, however, until mandatory workouts begin. Then, if they continue to hold out into training camp, a full-fledged financial assault begins.
This season is no different than the others. High-priced superstars — who just a few seasons ago were happy to become cornerstones of their franchises — are now demanding that they be released or have their deals re-negotiated. With the frequency of trades during the draft, some of these standoffs begin as early as March, when a player hopes he can be traded to a new team before the draft and be rewarded with a new deal. Current big-name holdouts are listed below (arranged alphabetically):
Click to expand...